Archives for February 7, 2009

‘Paetsch has seen time at forward in the past, mostly in the minors. All of his action this year has been as a blueliner. “He played well,” said Ruff, who was converted himself during his Sabres playing career. “Obviously the goal scoring is a bonus. He may never see defense again.”’

‘"I think we were a little slow off the bat, and Millsie just stood on his head for us," said Nathan Paetsch, who moved up from defense to left wing and scored the go-ahead goal in the second period. "He’s an elite goaltender, and when he plays like that, it gives us a chance to win every night. He kept us in there, then the boys got their legs and we started to take over the second."’

‘Ruutu said he will be good to go tonight and isn’t worried about having the 6-foot-4, 247-lb. Peters on the menu. If Peters wants to break bread or heads, Ruutu said it doesn’t matter to him. “Any time,” he said. “I like it … every game is different. I like a lot of physical contact and when the emotions are going, that’s when I play my best. You want every game to be like that. When the emotions are running high, it’s fun for the players and fun for the fans.”‘

‘“I did not waste time to think of the visit of the Sabres and I will certainly not waste time to think of it during the next hours. It is right a match like all the others, for me. I play in this way for a long time. That does not have anything for me again.”’

‘The former first-round pick couldn’t have been too comfortable watching the game from the press box while defenseman Nathan Paetsch took his place at right wing on the fourth line. No, not a good sign at all for Paille, especially considering the Sabres were down a forward with Paul Gaustad sidelined with an apparent shoulder injury.’

‘"It’s our barn," said Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta, who had a team-high three hits to set a physical tone. "Over the past little while, [we’ve] we’re really put an emphasis on [winning at home]. You’ve heard it from [coach] Lindy [Ruff], [you’ve] you’re heard it from the players, and it’s good to see that we’re actually doing it instead of talking about it."’

‘He’s worth far more to the Sabres than any other team, even if it means he walks after the season. Why trade him for peanuts now when he can help them into the playoffs, allowing them to pocket the money that comes with them? He has nine goals in the past nine games, and the Sabres have a 6-3 record over that span.’

‘Nathan Paetsch thus got the call but saw action for the first time this season at forward, playing with Adam Mair and Matt Ellis. As it turned out, the fourth line was the best line in Buffalo’s 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens.’

‘”We’re getting there,” Miller said of the team’s stated goal of playing better in its home rink, where it was only 10-9-2 during the 2008 portion of this season. “We talked about it and addressed it. We want to feel more comfortable here and be able to wrap up games and tonight we did a good job.”’